Arts space and cafe LEAF was included in Guardian Travel's first "budget eats" guide to Liverpool, in 2008, and is still going strong, albeit at a new address. In the meantime, owner Natalie Haywood has branched out at the media arts centre, FACT, and at Oh Me Oh My, a weekday cafe in a grand, Grade II-listed property opposite Liverpool's totemic Liver Building. LEAF and FACT are natural allies way beyond their preference for upper case logos and last year cemented their union when LEAF opened the Garden cafeteria at the centre. Its menu is broadly vegetarian, revolving around sandwiches, Ottolenghi-ish salads and daily specials executed with LEAF's usual foodist rigour. For £3.95, I picked-up a "small" (in fact, quite substantial) box of mixed salads and focaccia that included a terrific riff on preserved, chargrilled artichoke hearts and a lovely honeyed parsnip and walnut coleslaw. All this is available to take away, but, on a clear day with the sun streaming through FACT's glass façade, the Garden, with its fresh flowers and plants, and friendly staff, is a pleasant place to linger over lunch.
88 Wood Street, fact.co.uk. Open Mon-Fri 8.30am-9pm, Sat 10am-9pm, Sun 10.30am-6.30pm, breakfast £2.95-£6.25, sandwiches, salads and main meals £3.95-£6.75
Liverpool is known for its music and football but the food scene is vibrant, too. This budget eats guide to the city highlights a raft places where you can eat well for under £10
